Have you ever noticed how after you deliver a few slides loaded with information you think is key, you find that some heads in the audience start to nod off? You may point the finger at those participants, but let’s take a look at your presentation skills, specifically some of the guidelines you use when putting together presentations. Here’s a great example — how many lines of text do you place on one slide? Imagine asking your audience a question on the sixth or seventh slide about data presented on the first slide. What percentage of the audience would be able to remember the details? How important are those details to the big picture?

You want to ask yourself how to engage your audience not only to remember the cornerstone of your presentation but also to get into action, based on what they heard from you. This consideration is a cornerstone of public speaking. Your voice plays a vital role in presenting material, so focus on what you want to say and how. This means not using the slide deck as a public platform to replace your speaker notes. One reason for that is simple: the audience can read those words just as well as you can, negating the purpose of your presence. Additionally. when you read from the slides, your voice tends to get dull. This is a recipe for losing their precious attention. Worst is if you hand out your slides ahead of time. Then, you lost your audience before you even started.

Now, you may think that people get hooked on your presentation when you decorate the slides with all the bells and whistles you learned in your PowerPoint training. It’s like putting a bandage on a wound without treating the infection. If you want your audience to exit the gathering talking about how many beautiful PowerPoint features you know, go ahead! But, if you are interested in making a presentation that will move people into action, and in really engaging your communication skills, you must design your slides in an effective way and also build your vocal presentation to excite and inspire your listeners.

Check out The Round Well Coaching and Business Development for more recommendations and tips on communicating effectively.